As the Sun Bears Down, Christie Growls, and Bloomberg Barks a Little, Too

The region’s politicians, accustomed to running the world from climate-controlled capitols and S.U.V.’s, are being thrust into the sweltering streets by this record heat wave, handing out water, touring tree-strewn roads and assuring the sweaty public that cooler days and fully functioning power grids lie ahead.

But beneath the blue blazers and oxford shirts, their tempers — along with the temperatures — are rising.

After a helicopter tour of a water-parched county, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey ran out of patience on Saturday when a reporter asked a question about his plans for a legislative session.

A few seconds later, the governor walked off, but not before adding: “I’m sorry for the idiot over there. Take care.”

And on Monday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York City became confused, and then angered, when asked at an outdoor news conference about a brawl that broke out at a public pool in Brooklyn on Friday.

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"Are you stupid?" Gov. Chris Christie said to a reporter who asked a seemingly off-topic question in Oceanport., N.J., on Saturday.Credit
Mel Evans/Associated Press

“I had no idea there was an incident. What was the incident? Did someone go swimming?” the mayor asked about the fight, which shut down McCarren Pool and was widely reported in the New York media.

The reporter explained what had happened: Lifeguards had been attacked by rowdy teenagers at the pool, which had been closed for 28 years before it was reopened by the mayor in a public ceremony on Thursday.

The mayor, who had rolled up the sleeves of his pink oxford shirt, heaped on a dollop of sarcasm — “O.K., we’ll put a cop next to every lifeguard in the city” — before dismissing the question entirely.

“Come on, think about it!” he angrily urged the reporter.

A mayoral spokesman, Stu Loeser, said later that Mr. Bloomberg had simply not been briefed on the clash. “There are scuffles in city schools every single day,” Mr. Loeser wrote in an e-mail. “The mayor doesn’t get a briefing on every scuffle in every school or pool — and certainly not ones where there are zero arrests and medical attention is refused.”

Mr. Loeser did not reply to a question about how the mayor was coping with the heat. A Christie spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

Outside New York, the heat wave has had a more serious impact on those who run the government.

In Virginia, members of Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s staff have lost power and, in some cases, property: the home of the governor’s chief of staff, Martin Kent, was significantly damaged when a tree fell on it.

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“Come on, think about it!” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg told a reporter on Monday who questioned him about a brawl at a city pool.Credit
Joshua Bright for The New York Times

The weather was less severe in New York, but Mr. Bloomberg has appeared particularly sensitive to the heat lately. Last week, The New York Post reported that his staff had attempted to jury-rig a cooling solution for his city-provided S.U.V.: City Hall workers were spotted attempting to jam a standard household air-conditioning unit into the window of the car, which heats up in the sun, and then plug it into an outlet.

The mayor had previously been chastised for allowing his driver to idle the S.U.V. — and thus run the air-conditioning — while the car was parked, which is considered bad for the environment.

Mr. Bloomberg, who had removed his jacket after arriving at the news conference Monday in Union Square, appeared increasingly impatient as the questions continued.

At one point, referring to counting troubles at the city’s Board of Elections, he snapped: “If we don’t trust computers in this day and age, you don’t have a life.”

As for Mr. Christie, a Republican, his outburst has not gone unnoticed by his political opponents. State Senator Richard J. Codey, a Democrat and former governor, issued a statement suggesting that Mr. Christie could benefit from some instruction on how to behave.

“The governor probably would have been better served with his time in going with Alec Baldwin to take a class on etiquette and manners than in addressing the Legislature,” Mr. Codey said.

Adeshina Emmanuel, Vivian Yee and Kate Zernike contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on July 3, 2012, on page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: As the Sun Bears Down, Christie Growls ... and Bloomberg Barks a Little, Too. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe